PASADENA – Police officials said Wednesday a city panel charged with investigating officer involved shootings may not probe an incident in which officers fired as many as 20 rounds at a fleeing suspect.

Police Chief Phillip Sanchez said an initial investigation into the shooting would be conducted by him. The announcement raised the hackles of a local civil rights leader who pushed for an open review.

“Every aspect of the shooting will be renewed by me and at that time we will be in a better position to assess whether to employ the use of force board,” Sanchez said.

Sherwin Williams, a former city employee and known associate of the Pasadena Denver Lanes Bloods gang, fired a single shot at two unidentified police officers and an unidentified man on Monday. The shot slightly wounded one of the cops, officials said.

The officers responded with a flurry of bullets – none of which hit Williams, who was later arrested. Following his arrest, Williams led officers to a gun hidden in nearby bushes, sources close to the investigation said. He was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and was being held in Los Angeles on $4 million bail.

Arraignment is scheduled to take place today.

Earlier this year Pasadena residents and civil rights leaders blasted the city for not releasing the names of those serving on the use of force board. They said the practice of not revealing the names violated the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law.

The law governs public meetings and requires most government functions to be conducted in public.

While a Pasadena ordinance calls for review by the use of force board when officers discharge their weapons, Sanchez disbanded the board this summer. He froze the panels until Pasadena City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris determines whether such a board can operate within the constraints of the Brown Act.

The constraints of the Brown Act and California laws may force Sanchez to conduct an internal investigation of the shooting, Bagneris said.

“The Brown Act only allows you to meet in closed session for certain things and the police officers bill of rights doesn’t allow certain thing to be talked about in public,” Bagneris said. “We don’t have a ordinance that complies with both.”

Civil rights advocate Martin Gordon said a probe of Monday’s shooting carried out solely by Sanchez will not suffice.

Gordon said local civil rights groups will push the city to form a transparent use of force board to conduct an investigation.

“A number of groups including the NAACP, the ACLU, the League of Women Voters would all agree there needs to be civilian review,” Gordon said. “We as the community will be coming forward with a plan.”

As Pasadena civil rights leader began pushing for an open investigation, Mayor Bill Bogaard asked for patience.

“I want to give the chief the time he needs to get to the point where he has a recommendation to give to the city manager and he (the city manager) has a recommendation to the council,” Bogaard said.

Sensitive to the safety of Pasadena police officers, City Councilman Victor Gordo said he wanted the department to straddle the line between transparency and protecting the officers involved in the incident.

“If the police department is employing the use of force board to assist in the investigation the public does have the right to know the names of the individuals that serve on the use of force board,” Gordo said. “But we also need to be careful to protect the rights of the involved officers under the peace officers bill of rights.”

While the shooting and subsequent arrest occurred around 7 p.m. on Monday, the Pasadena Police Department didn’t disclose that the incident involved police officers discharging their service pistols until noon on Tuesday. Sanchez blamed timing on the delay in the release of information.

“I think we didn’t conclude the investigation until 3 or 4 a.m.,” he said. “Officers went home to get a couple hours of sleep and came in the next morning and began putting together the press release.”

Sanchez added that the department believed the use of force by its officers was a well-known fact after a broadcast news agency reported officers firing their weapons on Monday night.

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